tick, tick, tick...



I, personally, will be thrilled to put 2004 behind me. Had a shocking death in the family, the car got stolen, and I began the long dental-implant process. Then there was that goddamned election, less said about the better. Things bode much better for aught-five: I have the new job to report to on Monday, we hope to get many years out of the new car, and the dental work should be complete this winter. Still, 2004 can go suck it.

Are you driving anywhere for the holidays? You'll need things to listen to. May I suggest, both via Boing Boing:



A mix of Bollwood songs



for your mashup needs, "Meet the Beastles"

A north Minneapolis shooting, police standoff, and fire, all happening right across the alley from the home I grew up in:



--photo clipped--



Look at the left edge of the picture. See the house in the distance, with the door on the second story? That's our former next-door neighbors.



Accompanying, bizarre news story here. (registration required, and by the way, bugmenot.com is a good source for logins to reg-required sites).



I am frequently grumpy about most of my family's exodus to the 'burbs. Now is not one of those times.

Here I am, fishing for new cat litter endorsements.



Several months ago, we bought some Worlds Best Cat Litter based largely on a ringing endorsement here. This litter is made from corn, is fully biodegradable, scoopable, flushable, all-natural, it mows the lawn, picks up the kids from school, entertains visiting relatives, etc. After a transitional phase, mixing as directed with the old brand (Tidy Cat), we eventually went to all-WBCL litterboxes...and then the trouble started. We're always very good about scooping the box at least twice a day, but still, the cats have recently taken to peeing and crapping just outside the box. Nearly once a day this week. My guess is either they're too old to move away from the traditional clay-based litter, or this stuff smells too much like their food-- a main ingredient of which is corn meal.

I've dodged the unemployment bullet. My contract in social studies ends at the end of this month, with no chance of it being renewed: two permanent social studies editors are moving over to lit, and another has been laid off. But over the past few weeks I've interviewed for three positions in other departments, and accepted one in production. I'm going to be working on digital products for math and modern languages. It seems to be the best fit in terms of day-to-day work, people, and avoidance of nasty office politics. So after some time off between Christmas and New Year's, I should be able to transition over to the new gig rather seamlessly.

Not much to say about Thanksgiving. Avoided the worst of the travel delays. Relatives are fine. Good to see the DeVeaus. Kenmore Square is...well, if I was a prospective BU freshman with the same interests I had in 1988, the cleaned-up Kenmore would have far less allure. I guess it all depends on what I was able to unearth at Nuggets.



***



Then again, the younger me would have new music avenues. Like the iTunes Music Store; the waters of which I finally waded into this weekend. First purchase: Joe Strummer's cover of "Redemption Song," after seeing the almost-made-me-cry video over the holidays. The track was intended to be a duet with Johnny Cash, and said duet made it onto the posthumous Cash box set. I like the Cash Rick Rubin-era stuff, so I bought that version as well. Ehh...not so good. Strummer can pull off a Bob Marley cover; the Clash dabbled in reggae on and off since the first album. But despite Johnny and June maintaining a residence in Jamaica for decades, I wasn't feeling the rastamon vibration from the Man in Black.



***



Is it fair or even appropriate to comment on the end of the KJ era when the only episode I watched in its entirety was his finale? Did he tank? Probably not. Those Double Jeopardy questions were ass-hard. On the other hand, having not watched the show with any regularity in years, maybe I'm off here, but he seemed to be running down the clock. Took a while selecting categories. The silence on the Sports Venues category was just strange. I think he'll hear about "Joe Louis Arena" from particular NAQT staff more than he'll hear about tax preparers.



And if he did decide to hang it up in a somewhat graceful manner, so what? This isn't his job. If I'm not mistaken he was on the hook for his own expenses all along, though that investment...has been recouped. He doesn't owe the viewers or other contestants anything.

We took Friday off before Chris & Ali's wedding to do some sightseeing in Philadelphia. I'd seen the historic sites around Bicentennial time, and Kirsti'd never been. Unfortunately it was rainy and miserable all day.



The only thing we had scheduled was lunch at Morimoto, the restaurant owned by the once and future Iron Chef Japanese, so we may as well start there. Kirsti had a spicy chicken tempura. and a pot de creme for dessert. I opted for the lunch omakase (tasting menu), which was five courses consisting of:

1. raw yellowtail...um...paté?. the name escapes me. But it was chopped pretty fine and served with a light sauce, some scallions, and caviar.

2. sashimi salad; I forget what sort of fish, but not a sushi cut I was familiar with.

3. chilean sea bass steamed once in sake, then with a black bean-garlic sauce.

4. sushi sampler: tuna, sardine, yellowtail, shrimp, salmon.

5. chocolate soup, passionfruit sorbet.

Not a single bit of this was disapppointing, but the highlights were the bass and the sorbet. The restaurant itself was pretty nifty, though Morimoto himself was out of town.



Kirsti's goals were to eat lunch and see the Liberty Bell. The restaurant is right near Independence National Park, so we killed time before lunch by getting the bell out of the way. Can't touch it any more. We decided to pass on the Independence Hall tour. I recalled being impressed with the underground museum at Franklin Court, and tried to get over there later in the evening, but we didn't get to it in time...assuming going on 28-y.o. memories is a good idea.



Next up was one of Chris's recommendations that got nixed for the out-of-town guest guide: The Mütter Museum. I don't have much to add that the good folks at Roadside America haven't covered, except:



1. Eat your bran, kiddies!

2. After my dental tribulations this year, I was disturbed at the high number of flippers in the "objects swallowed & removed" collection.

3. Kirsti's most-amusing bit was the exhibit on Laura Bridgman, the first blind-deaf person to be systematically educated: "[she was] held up as a model of Victorian girlhood...young girls would poke their dolls' eyes out and name them 'Laura.'" th' hell?



We took the subway to the Mütter, and the nearby stop is a fascinating microcosm of America. On the corners of 22nd and Market, we have: a Salvation Army thrift store, an adult book & merchandise store; a porn theatre advertising new first-run films (leading me to wonder who's still making first-run smut projected via celluloid, but my "research request" on this matter was flatly denied). And topping it off, we have...Trader Joes, the upscale food emporium. I'm hoping the Forum cuts its raincoat-brigade patrons some slack on bringing in outside snacks. 'Cos hey, nothing beats Inka Chips, y'know?



Traveling seems to be the only time I read anymore. On this trip I read The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I was expecting crashing waves of despair, but it ended up being sort of uplifting. I'd recommend it if there were more than five people left in this country that haven't read it.